The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Ottawa has announced a nationwide ban on baby walkers, concluding that the devices represent an unacceptable risk to the infants who use them. Effective immediately, the ban prohibits the sale, advertisement and importation of baby walkers, also called infant walkers, in Canada. "It is the safety of our children that is of the most vital importance," said Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew in a statement. "I am pleased to announce that Canada is the first country in the world to ban the sale of these products." The ban applies to the sale of baby walkers as second-hand items, meaning they may not be sold at flea markets or garage sales. The federal government advises that people who own baby walkers dismantle and dispose of them. Baby walkers are designed for use by children who are able to sit up but not yet able to walk on their own. Health Canada says these children do not have the necessary skills, reflexes or cognitive abilities to safely use the devices. "Typically, incidents linked to baby walkers involve head injuries that result from falls down stairs," reads a Health Canada statement. "However, other injuries occur when the child in the baby walker is able to reach dangerous objects that are otherwise not accessible." Such safety concerns prompted a national voluntary retail ban on baby walkers beginning in 1989, but the devices still found their way onto the Canadian market.
